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Monday, March 16, 2015

Music to Barre By

Thanks to your suggestions and many hours on google, I pre-spent my first two (or three) barre paycheck on iTunes and had a nice little playlist ready for my first class last Friday. I subbed again this morning for the 6:15 class (yay!) and still have dreams of one day having my own permanent evening class, but for now I'm adding to the choreography section in my shiny new barre binder and fiddling with my play list. Here's what I have for now, with commentary, because I can't help myself- these songs are like my children now.

(I also included a few of the videos so you can hear the songs, but the videos are almost universally stranger than the songs (like the one below), so don't let that distract you.)

Geranimo

Warm-Up

FourFiveSeconds by Rachel Potter: this is a cover of the Rihanna/Kanye/Paul McCartney song; it's a little smoother than the original and a perfect warm-up song. It is also perfect for singing extremely loudly in your car.

Girls Chase Boys by Ingrid Michaelson: adorable and upbeat, but not so upbeat you feel like you should already be kicking your leg up in the air instead of just pulsing it gently near the ground.

Rather Be by Clean Bandit: stronger beat, super fun song; I like to add a bunch of planks and cardio into the warm-up b/c abs often get shortchanged when you save them for the exhausted end of class, and it's good to get the heart rate up before moving to arms, so I wanted something fun to go along with my "warm-up" side planks and ballet jacks.

Four Five Seconds (cover)

Arms

Stolen Dance by Milky Chance: a new fave with a nice strong beat for fun with 1 lb. weights.

Cosmic Girl by Jamiroquai: Center Stage soundtrack, need I say more?

King by Years & Years: This band is a "British-Australian electronica trio" and who doesn't need one of those in their playlist? (But seriously, it's a great song and practically demands you do some plie squats with shoulder presses while listening. Or rhythmic wine glass lifting. Whichever. You be you.)

King

Barre

We're Dancing by PYT: This song tells me it's time to move to the barre and it starts slow while everyone moves over and then speeds up while we start our calf raises; a lovely transition.

Geronimo by Sheppard: BAM! This song slaps you upside the head and gets you moving, which is what we're now doing at the barre. Just listen to it and try not to dance, or at the very last headbob at your desk while wishing you were dancing. It is impossible.

Canned Heat by Jamiroquai: Center Stage strikes again; this is the song at the end when Jody magically changes into a red outfit and does a lot of spinning in place. It's very peppy and I'm pretty sure my 2nd pliéto passé series makes me look just like Jody, the soon-to-be-principal in Cooper Nielson's ballet company.

Lips Are Movin by Meghan Trainor: It's trendy, but it's fun. And your legs are probably shaking now, so it's nice to have a song you can mouth the words to to distract yourself.

Honey I'm Good by Andy Grammer: Suggested by blog reader Christina and it is FABULOUS. Super upbeat and dancey, and it's about avoiding cheating on your significant other, so that's nice. My barre class is anti-adultery.

Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars: Another radio favorite; your legs really hurt right now, so you should sing, and the "hallelujah" part fits in for the water break you're about to get before we switch sides.

Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon: Yes! Because that's what you should do-- left side!

Time of Our Lives by Pibull & Ne-Yo: I'm slightly ashamed at how much I enjoy this song, but it's so perky and you ARE working your ass off. Quite literally and I'm sure you're having the time of your life while doing it. Or at least you lack the breath to tell me otherwise.

Talking Body by Tove Lo: I freaking love this song. The video is pretty explicit, but I downloaded the clean version for class because not everyone feels the need to sing "fuck" out loud, even after 30 straight minutes of leg work, but you can say it in your head if you want to. Regardless, the "if you're talking body, you've got a perfect one" lyrics seem appropriate. Because we are/you do, because you're in barre class.

Honey I'm Good

Talking Body
(this is not the clean version, so nsfw and all that)

Abs

Somebody Loves You by Betty Who: So fun and one of Claire's new favorites to dance to at home; great for listening while chopping vegetables and/or doing bicycle crunches (probably not and).

Burn by Ellie Goulding: by this point in class you don't have a muscle that isn't actively on fire or quietly smoldering, so it seems appropriate. Also, abs are the worst and we should just acknowledge that through song.

Sombody Loves You

Stretching/Cool-Down

Middle Ground by Mark Wilkinson: I ADORE this song. It is perfect for the stretch out and breathe while I dim the lights moment in class because it is the best moment and this is the best song.

Magic by Coldplay: the only Coldplay song I like (besides Fix You, which is similarly gorgeous and not at all Coldplay-whiney), and when you find you are able to touch your toes during the final stretching at the end of class, it is kind of magic.

Magic

I have a running list of music from your comments on the last post on this topic and plan to keep adding to my library, so let me know what other songs I need!

Welcome!

"Lag liv," imperfectly translated, means "law life" in Swedish. I'm half Swedish and I was in law school back when I wrote my first post in 2006, so Lag Liv I became and Lag Liv I still am!

Now I'm a full-time attorney, part-time barre teacher, and all-the-time wife and mom of three. We live a busy life in charming Fort Worth, Texas. You can read more about me and my cast of characters in the About Me and My Blog page. Happy reading and if you'd like to contact me, my email is lagliv [at] gmail [dot] com.